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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22443700">Reality Drowned</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/evbirb/pseuds/evbirb'>evbirb</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>RWBY</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Dreams, Fix-It, Fluff, Gore, Hallucinations, M/M, Nightmares, Not super graphic but might as well tag it, Oscar's Semblance, Qrow doesn't loose his mind yet, TW: Tyrian, Time Travel, V7C12 Spoilers, fluffy at the end</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-01-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-01-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 12:42:24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,357</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22443700</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/evbirb/pseuds/evbirb</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>== SPOILERS FOR VOL 7 CH 12! DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVE NOT WATCHED IT YET!! ==</p><p>During the battle against Neopolitan, Oscar unlocks his semblance. Unbeknownst to himself, it saves more than one life.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Qrow Branwen/Clover Ebi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>138</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Reality Drowned</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The chase for Neo was on. Her small stature lent immensely to her speed and agility, although Nora was not far behind her. Turning this way and that through twisting corridors, they come upon a dead-end. The door had been sealed shut during the lockdown of the Academy. Neo whips around to face her pursuers.<br/>
“Nowhere left to run.” Jaune quips. Neo simply smirks at him. She activates her semblance, pink shards reforming her from head to toe.<br/>
Jaune realizes what she’s doing first, and can only stand and watch. The long red hair pulled into a ponytail, topped with a copper circlet. Her striking green eyes which had no kindness to them this time. The pink shards filled out the rest of her form and team JNR all gasp in unison. Standing before them is their teammate and friend. The three immediately erupt into rage, tossing themselves at the illusion to destroy the fake image.<br/>
The three attack the shapeshifter, blinded by their sorrow and rage. Jaune swings Crocea Mors two-handed as hard as he can, but Neo easily dodges the clumsy attack. The sword bites into the wall and is stuck. Neo whips around and launches towards Ren. He swings with Stormflower but she easily dodges. Ren swings down on her, but Neo leaps into the air and launches off the wall. She delivers a hard kick to Ren’s chest, sending him into the opposite wall and depleting his aura. Ren peppers her with bullets; she counters by opening her parasol. She gives it a twirl before closing it and charges after Nora. She swings Magnhild this way and that, slightly more calculated but still far too clumsy with rage to land a hit. With a large swing from above, Neo flips into the air to dodge. The hammer slams into the ground and Neo springs off of it to land a direct kick to Nora’s face, sending her flying into a wall and depleting her aura.<br/>
“Nora!” Ren shouts after his teammate. He quickly refocuses onto the illusion and charges. Just as he does, Jaune dislodges his sword and makes a swing for Neo. She jumps over the swing and launches herself off the blade directly towards Ren. Ren is stopped in his tracks. Drops of blood splatter on the floor. Jaune and Oscar look on in horror at the sight. Neo had impaled Ren through the abdomen with the blade of her parasol. She removes it and Ren staggers. He falls to his knees next to where Nora lay, unconscious.<br/>
“NO!” Oscar shouts, and everything around him slows to a halt. He watches as everything rewinds, slowly at first. As the rewind picks up speed, his vision turns white.</p><p>Meanwhile, in the tundra outside of Mantle, a hasty goodbye is said.<br/>
“Good luck.” Clover’s voice came weak. The sun slowly rises over the white horizon. As the sun’s light grows, Clover’s light fades, offering one last smile. Qrow can feel a scream bubbling in his throat as the tears well. With his restraint lost, the tears fall and his scream echoes over the tundra. With nothing left in him, Qrow simply hunches over Clover’s body and weeps. He weakly clutches at the tattered and bloody uniform. He wills for Clover to just wake up. For him to just get back up. Just a little more time. He just wants to tell him. As if heard by some god, his vision slowly turns white.<br/>
Qrow awakens in an unfamiliar bed with a sharp gasp. Soft morning light filters in through the blinds. He glances around the room and to the unfamiliar blankets covering him, and somebody else. His rust eyes track up the shape next to him until they reach a familiar and painful sight. Clover lay next to him, peacefully asleep. Bewildered, Qrow scrambles to the edge of the bed. The movement stirs Clover awake<br/>
“Wh-wha, what’s goin on?” Clover mumbles, his teal eyes fluttering open. His eyes blink away the sleep. At the sight of Qrow’s bewildered self, Clover sits up and immediately wraps his arms loosely around Qrow’s waist.<br/>
“Hey, what’s wrong baby? Bad dream.” Clover asks.<br/>
“Uh...yeah. I uh-“ he cuts himself off, familiarity finally settling in. He finally recognizes his bedroom, their bedroom. He rests a hand on Clover’s chest.<br/>
“It was nothing. Don’t worry.” He admits, his cheeks turning pink. When Clover pulls his left hand away to take Qrow’s in it, he notices a silver ring.<br/>
“Since when do you wear that?” he asks, nodding to the ring with a slight frown. Clover lets out a soft chuckle and replies “Since we got married, dummy. Or do you not remember that part?” They both laugh as Clover brings a hand up to cradle Qrows face. Qrow wants so badly to just melt into the man before him. He tips forward to attempt to close the distance. A distant, strange sound interrupts the moment.<br/>
“What was that?” he asks, jerking back. Clover frowns at him.<br/>
“I didn’t hear anything.” The noise sounds again, louder this time. Qrow can recognize it this time, however. It’s the alarm on an aircraft. As soon as he makes this revelation, panic sets in.<br/>
“This isn’t real.” He says, freeing himself from Clover’s loose hold and turning towards the rest of the room, searching for the source.<br/>
“What?” By Clover’s tone, Qrow would be more worried if this actually was real. But alas, the droning of the airship alarm sounds again and Qrow turns back to Clover. He is suddenly in his Ace Ops uniform.<br/>
“When did you put that on?” Qrow asks, breath quickly leaving his lungs.<br/>
“I never took it off.” Clover responds, and suddenly blood starts to pour from an unseen wound down the middle of his chest. Qrow panics and immediately puts as much pressure as he can manage onto the unknown wound. No matter how hard he tries, the blood doesn’t stop nor slow. Clover simply looks up at Qrow, unphased by the blood.<br/>
“You killed me.” Clover says in a simple tone, almost possessed. Qrow startles and pushes himself away from Clover and clutches at his head.<br/>
“No, no! It wasn’t my fault! It wasn’t, please, Clover! Clover I didn’t do it!” and suddenly his vision blacks out.</p><p>=====</p><p>Qrow awakens with a groan. His head pounds from the trauma of the crash. Black smoke wafts through the destroyed aircraft cabin. He coughs smoke from his lungs, beginning to stand. Waving the smoke from his face, he glances around the airship. No sign of Robyn or Clover. Tyrian, however is unconscious and bound near the cockpit. The smoke begins to thicken and Qrow makes for the hole in the side of the ship, preferring not to suffocate. Exiting the ship, he spots Robyn unconscious near the wreckage. Rushing to her side, he finds her to be alive.<br/>
A sudden wave of deja vu hit Qrow and the gruesome scene plays out before his eyes. This throws him off balance, landing him in the cold, wet snow. His eyes skirt around the wreckage. He doesn’t know what he is hoping to find and he’s not quite sure he wants to find out. Near the nose of the ship, he spots a boot sticking out from the other side. Uneasily Qrow gets to his feet and approaches the boot. Rounding the ship, he finds the boot attached to somebody. That somebody is all too familiar. The pristine Atlas uniform is clean of any blood that Qrow was half expecting.<br/>
The huntsman is stood stock still, eyes trained on this person who died what felt like minutes before. The sight of Clover’s unconscious face throws Qrow back into the vision he had before waking in the ship. The bed, Clover’s warmth, the morning light, the silver ring. He can feel the lump forming in his throat and tears burning at his eyes. Cautiously, he kneels at Clover’s side, the act far too familiar, yet this time it’s under seemingly better circumstances. Before he does anything to rouse the huntsman, Clover’s face scrunches into a frown and his eyes fluttered open.<br/>
“Qrow?” Clover’s voice comes out a rasp. He goes to sit up, rubbing at his head. Qrow watches in awe at his suddenly revived partner. Clover shakes away the ache and glances over to Qrow. He regards him with caution, but doesn’t seem to make any move to attack. Qrow ponders his next move. As far as he can tell, this is all real. He’s not hallucinating, dreaming, or otherwise.<br/>
Right here in front of him is Clover. He would never admit it but he had been falling for the charming huntsman ever since their first mission together. Every confident salute and flirtatious wink made Qrow want to melt. Of course nobody knew that because he tried his very hardest to keep that a secret. He couldn’t go having crushes on charming, handsome huntsmen during a war. Yet here he was just within reach, and it was oh so tempting to take that leap and allow himself to fall. Clover’s voice snaps Qrow out of his stupor.<br/>
“What happened? Everything is such a blur..” he asks.<br/>
“I-I’m not sure. I thought we fought, but-” Qrow cuts himself off, realizing that Clover may not remember the fight, or dying. Qrow shifts his gaze down, unsure of what to say next.<br/>
“I died.” Clover says simply. Red eyes shot up to meet teal. Qrow is at a complete loss. He can only stare, wide eyed at the man of his affections.<br/>
“I had a dream too.” he continues, holding Qrow’s stare “You were in it. We...we were married.” his voice shifts to something more fond as he speaks. At that, Qrow’s jaw drops slightly. The tears burning at his eyes desperately want to spill over, but Qrow holds them at bay. He lets go of the breath he didn’t know he was holding and takes a few more before responding.<br/>
“What.” he breathes out. Clover smiles; it’s something warm and full of affection. The tears that were on the verge of spilling finally streak down Qrow’s cheeks. Clover is surprised at this and goes to wipe them away with his thumbs.<br/>
“No, it’s okay.” Qrow says with a wet smile. He wraps his fingers around Clover’s wrists and just rests his hands there. The younger huntsman understands and leans forwards to rest his forehead against Qrow’s. Clover’s hands come back to rest on either side of Qrow’s face. Both their eyes fall shut in a sense of calm. They stay like that in the quiet of the tundra for what feels like forever. Melting in each others warmth and breathing in the scent of the other. It’s like a breath of fresh air to both of them. They’re not holding their breath waiting for the other to make a move, careful not to mess up what they built over many months.<br/>
A sudden, sharp scraping of metal startles them out of their moment. The maniacal laughter of Tyrian can be heard from the wreckage.<br/>
“Oh no, Robyn.” Qrow says, starting to his feet. Clover follow suit, drawing Kingfisher. The two make their way to the ship to retrieve Robyn. Before they can reach her, Tyrian bursts out of the ship in a flurry of smoke and debris. The two narrowly dodge. The faunus lands somewhere behind them. The pair whips around to face their enemy.<br/>
“Now now boys, what happened to fighting each other?” Tyrian chides, holding out his hands to gesture to them. Qrow and Clover share a glance.<br/>
“Do you trust me?” Qrow asks. With a breathy chuckle, Clover nods. They turn back to the deranged man, weapons at the ready.<br/>
“Suit yourselves, then!” with that, Tyrian launches forwards. Qrow goes in to counter with a broad swing. Tyrian leaps up into the air to dodge, only to be immediately yanked back by Kingfisher. He hits the ground and Qrow turns on his heel for another swing low to the ground. Tyrian kicks the blade up, but Qrow keeps hold of it. Flipping the blade, Qrow strikes again. The faunus barely manages to roll out of the way of the large blade. With a quick twist, Tyrian frees himself of the line. He launches from the ground and charges for Clover. The huntsman swings his weapon to cast the line to Qrow which he easily catches. The faunus is already upon Clover and makes a lunge for his side. Clover twists out of the way and shortens Kingfisher. He takes up the slack in the line in his other hand.<br/>
Tyrian barrages him with strike after strike, missing every one. Clover has dodged circles around Tyrian, the faunus nearly forgets about the other huntsman present. With a hard pull and a shot from Harbinger, Qrow is flying towards Tyrian. The faunus tries to dodge, but finds himself tangled in the line of Kingfisher. It’s too late, Qrow is already upon him. The blade of Harbinger finds Tyrian’s chest and stabs through. Blood splatters in the pure white snow. A scream echoes across the tundra. Qrow removes Harbinger from the faunus as Clover loosens the line of Kingfisher. Tyrian takes a few staggering steps before falling into the snow with one last chuckle. Blood pools around him and he grows still.<br/>
Qrow watches the blood pool in the snow. Clover stows his weapon and approaches Qrow, taking up his empty hand in his own. The gesture snaps Qrow from his stare. He drops Harbinger and looks over to Clover. He lets out a shaky sigh and pulls Clover into a hug. Qrow nestles his face into Clover’s neck and just breathes. He feels as the weight of the world has lifted off him. No longer a nagging need for revenge. The feeling of overwhelming hope came rushing back to Qrow. One evil was defeated, Clover was by his side and everything was going right for once. He clutches tighter at Clover, wanting to melt into him again. Maybe he isn’t as much of a bad luck charm as he thought.</p>
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